Improvement in clothes-flivs



S. REID 81. L. M. BERRY. Liloth es-Pins. NO.148,088. m PatentedMarch3.1874.

WWW sees UNITED SAMUEL REID AND LEWIS M. BERRY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN'CLOTHES=PI5\!S.

Specification formirg part of Letters Patent No. 145,088, dated M. rch 3,1874; application filed Dee mter 2, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, SAMUEL REID and Ln'wrs M. Eit er, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Clothes Pins; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to which our invention appertains to make and 7 use the same, reference being had to the accompanyin g drawing forming part of this specification, in which-- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a clothes-pin embodying our said invention. Fig. 2 is a front view of one of the jaws; and Fig. 3 is a vertical central section of the pin, showing the form of the spring acting to hold the jaws in contact.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts in the several figures of the drawing.

Our invention has for its object to provide a clothes pin adapted to suspend the clothes from the line without coming in contact therewith; and to that end it consists in providing a spring-hook, acting in conjunction with the jaws holding the clothes, and so arranged as to lock the jaws in a closed position by the weight of the article suspended; and in the combination of the parts, as will be more fully understood by the following description.

In the accompanying drawing, A A are the jaws, which are substantially made of wood, and hinged one to the other, in the usual manner. The lower extremities of the jaws are serrated laterally, and are so arranged as to allow the protruding parts of one jaw to take into the approximate notch in the opposite jaw, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The shank or upper portion of each jaw is beveled from a point slightly above the hinge outward toward the top, as shown at G, the object of which is to allow the same to be moved together, by which movement the jaws are opened. The inner surface of the upper or beveled portion of each jaw is provided with a groove, to, the lower portion of which is so formed as to describe the arc of a circle when the respective jaws are hinged one to the other, forming a recess, D. The upper portion of this recess is elongated, as shown in Fig. 3, and is less in width at its upper end than the diameter of the are. E is a metal spring, which is loosely fitted within the recess. The lower end of this spring is so formed as to describe the are of a circle approximating the lower extremity of the recess, and one of its sides is extended upward on an angle corresponding with the bevel of the inner face of the upper or shank portion of the jaw to a point near its upper end, and is there bent downward, and curved at its lower end, describing an arc of a circle the diameter of which is slightly less than the diameter of the lower portion of the spring, as shown at E. The opposite side of the spring proper is bent on an angle corresponding with the bevel ot the inner face of the jaw, and extends upward above the upper extremity of the same, and is provided at its upper extremity with a hook, f, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

This hook is so arranged as to bring its con. ter immediately over the center of the jaws, the object of which is to secure the pin in a vertical position when suspended from the line. The arrangement of this spring is such that when in its normal position the serrated portions of the jaws are held in contact by the ten sion of the spring, which is capable of yielding sufficiently to allow the upper portion of the jaws to be compressed together, by which means the serrated parts are relieved from contact sufticiently to admit of introducing or removing the article suspended. The arrangement of the recess is such as to allow the spring to be moved slightly upward without lateral displacement, and by the wedge shape of the recess the spring is compressed, and as the same has reached the limit of its upward movement the shoulders h of the spring are brought in contact with shoulders g of the recess, and the peripheryof part d of the spring is brought in contact with andagainst the inner surface of the arc portion of the spring by the compression of the latter, thereby increasing the rigidity of the spring, which firmly locks the serrated portion of the jaws in a closed position, and securely holding the article between the jaws, in such a manner as to prevent the same from being loosened by the action of the wind.

In using our invention the upper portion of the jaws is compressed together against the 2 memes tension of the spring, which opens the serrated parts of the jaws, and the clothes to be dried are introduced between the latter, and by the tension of the spring the clothes are impinged in such a manner as to secure the pin to the clothes. The pin is then suspended from the line by means of hook f, and by the weight of the clothes the pin is moved downward on the spring, allowing the curved portion of the spring to ride up on the inclined sides of the recess, as previously described, thereby firmly locking the jaws in a closed position against the clothes, and suspending the latter in such a manner as to prevent the same from coming in contact with the line, rendering the same more convenient, and preventing the clothes from being soiled by dust Witnesses:

N. H. SHERBURNE, J AMES COLEMAN. 

